


Prince Vala's Wedding Night

by sattsuma



Category: Original Work
Genre: Conquering Male Warlord noncons Conquered Elf Prince, Forced Crossdressing, Forced Marriage, Humiliation, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Manhandling, Scenario - Rapist Having Thoroughly Self-Indulgent Good Time, Scenario - Victim initially hates it but begins to enjoy it during the act, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24577219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sattsuma/pseuds/sattsuma
Summary: A wedding night called for certain activities, of course, among humans and elves alike. But perhaps Taki would not ask such a thing of him.The dress, and the look the servant had given him, did not make that possibility seem especially likely.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 9
Kudos: 105
Collections: Nonconathon 2020





	Prince Vala's Wedding Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yen/gifts).



The wedding had, Vala thought to himself after the fact, gone smoothly enough. It had been quick, at least, and that was a mercy. Vala was not overly familiar with the customs of humans, but it was clear that Taki Goldclaw, at least, was not inclined to waste much time on ritual or sentiment. It had been less than a week since the forest palace had been burned and Vala’s father had been forced to yield to the human invaders, and only a few days since Vala had first been informed of what their conqueror desired in exchange for the safety of the elves who had not already died or been scattered by the catastrophe. 

The wedding negotiations – if they could even be called that – had been brief, and Taki had wished to hold the ceremony without delay, and so Vala had traveled just that morning from the burnt remains of his kingdom, the only home he had ever known, to the place beyond the forest where the land spread out in barren, desolate plains and where Taki and his horde of soldiers were camped. 

The sooty, grimy stink of so many humans packed together had made Vala’s head spin at first, but there had been no time to bemoan what had become of him. Vala had been quickly hustled away by a few of Taki’s men – “We’ll take _good_ care of your prince, don’t you worry,” one of them had leered at the few elven retainers who had made the journey with Vala – to one of the larger tents, where he was handed over to another group of humans who, he realized quickly, were to prepare him for his wedding to their lord. These servants had scarcely looked Vala in the eye, much less spoken to him – Vala had not been able to figure out whether they were cowed by overexaggerated tales of fearsome, powerful elves, or by their own fearsome human leader – but they had done their work thoroughly. Vala had been made to soak in a tub of hot water mixed with scented oils that he could not identify until his skin was soft and overheated, and then, once every inch of him had been thoroughly dried, they had dressed him. 

Dressed him in… Vala had not been able to keep from giving the servants a look of disbelief when he had first laid eyes on it, though they ignored him as ever. The garment was fashioned from fine white cloth, adorned with delicate silver buttons and just a hint of silver embroidery around the cuffs and high collar. It pulled in at the waist, before flaring out into a skirt, and even Vala, with his inadequate knowledge of humans, knew that it was the sort of thing for a human woman to wear, not a man. 

But at the same time, if this was meant as an insult it made little difference, not after all the other humiliations that had already been wrought upon Vala and the other elves, and the humiliation that Vala knew still awaited him. And it was not as if Vala had any ability to protest, anyway, and so he had let the servants help him into the dress, wondering glumly as one man mutely did up his buttons what had become of the dress’s original owner, whoever she might have been.

After all that, the wedding itself had been almost easy. Vala had only to stand at Taki’s side, enduring the stares of the humans and the wretched faces of the few elves witnessing the ceremony, and mumble a few words at the appropriate time. He had let Taki place the ring onto his finger – it was a crude thing, forged from iron and spelled by the highest mages of Vala’s own court so that Vala could not harm Taki as long as he wore it, nor remove the ring on his own – and that had been that. In the space of less time than he had spent soaking in the bath earlier that day, Vala had gone from prince of the elven kingdom to the husband of the one who had destroyed it.

Afterwards, Vala had been brought to yet another tent. This one was even larger, with a formidable bed piled high with furs in the center of it, and Vala understood that this was where Taki – _my husband,_ he thought, unhappily – slept. Taki himself was nowhere to be seen, but the same servants from earlier had bustled about, lighting the lanterns and removing Vala’s shoes. 

Vala had started to undo the buttons of his dress, only to be stopped quickly by one of the servants. 

No,” said the man. Vala thought he might have been the one that first fastened him into the dress some time earlier, but he was not sure. He had never been around so many humans before today – at least, not outside of a battle - and he was still struggling to keep track of them all.

“Lord Taki,” the man continued. His voice sounded almost apologetic, but, again, Vala could not be sure. “He wishes for you to keep the dress on until he arrives.”

“Oh,” Vala said, foolishly. His face felt suddenly hot, and he found that he could do no more than nod. The others left soon after that, and then Vala was alone.

He had asked himself countless times already whether it was better or worse that this was happening at Taki’s home, instead of at what remained of Vala’s. Most of the time, he came to the conclusion that this way was better. Better to have a clean break, to be distracted by the strange, rough customs of Taki and the other humans rather than be forced to dwell further on what had become of his kingdom. 

But for now, there was nothing for him to do but sit on the edge of Taki’s bed, wearing the dress Taki wished him to wear, and wait. Vala’s thoughts wandered unpleasantly, and there was no distraction to be found, save for the faint, unpleasant tingle of the wedding ring against his skin. Vala twisted it absentmindedly on his finger as he pondered what could possibly lie ahead. 

A wedding night called for certain activities, of course, among humans and elves alike. But perhaps Taki would not ask such a thing of him. Perhaps he would be satisfied with the power he had gained and the pain he had inflicted simply by going as far as to take Vala in marriage. Perhaps he would not even be interested in taking an elf to bed, as Vala knew many humans were not. 

The dress, and the look the servant had given him, did not make that possibility seem especially likely. 

Just as the wait had become nearly unbearable, the flap over the tent’s entrance was swept aside, and there was Taki, at last. The human was dressed more casually than Vala remembered from the wedding ceremony, in a plain, loose-fitting shirt and trousers that would be suitable for sleeping. His auburn hair was messy, and Vala thought there seemed to be a wolfish glint in his eyes as he regarded Vala. 

“Vala!” Taki beamed, as if finding Vala waiting on the bed for him was some sort of delightful surprise. He crossed the room before Vala had time to react, throwing himself down heavily upon the bed. One hand came up to cup Vala’s face. “My _husband_ ,” Taki crooned, and though his touch was gentle, there was no mistaking the way that he put just a little too much humiliating emphasis into his words. 

“Lord Taki,” Vala replied shortly. As agonizing as it had been to wait for Taki’s arrival, he found that it was not at all better to have him there. 

Taki made a _tsk_ of displeasure, and his grip on Vala’s face tightened very slightly. “That’s not the right word, is it? I had thought that you spoke our language well enough.” 

Vala fought the urge to grind his teeth. He was already well familiar with Taki’s irritating manner from their previous interactions. As well as with what the human could be capable of when he was no longer in a playful mood. “Husband.” 

Taki grinned, though his hold on Vala’s face did not soften. The next second, he was ducking forward, claiming Vala’s mouth with his own. _So,_ Vala thought. _This_ is _what he wants._ He had grown more or less resigned to the idea already in the time spent waiting for Taki, but he felt a little thrill of dread all the same at the certainty of it, at the heat of Taki’s mouth pressed hard against his. 

He had not tried to resist, but when Taki pulled away at last, the human’s eyebrows were raised and Vala knew that his lack of enthusiasm had been noticed. But what did Taki expect? They had been enemies until so recently – they were still enemies, with Vala restrained only by the magic ring on his finger and the knowledge that Taki could still kill the remaining elves if he decided to do so. Surely Taki did not expect that Vala would enjoy being pawed at under such circumstances. 

“Is my husband unhappy?” Taki asked sweetly. 

The first time Vala had gotten a clear look at Taki, it had been startling to realize just how young he was – maybe even younger among humans than Vala was among elves, difficult though it was to compare their ages. He was not particularly larger than Vala either, nor more muscular. After being forced to spend so much time around him recently, Vala could even admit that he was not bad-looking, either, though there was something sickeningly untrustworthy about the man’s easy smile.

Seeing him now, without any armor or weapons, it was tantalizingly simple for Vala to picture himself overpowering Taki. But he had already had his chance for that, of course, back when the forest had burned around them. And look how that had turned out. 

All the same, though, he did not have to play along with Taki’s games. Vala kept his lips pressed tightly together, and ignored the question. 

“Was the ceremony not to your liking?” Taki would not give up easily, of course. “It was rushed, of course, but surely you understand. Or perhaps…” His voice lowered slightly, hardened. “Are you having second thoughts about this marriage already? I can tell the others that the agreement is off, if you prefer, but –“

“No!” Vala was unable to keep himself from crying out, alarmed. Images of what remained of his kingdom, his family, flashed through his head. 

“Good,” Triumphant, Taki had resumed the pretense of friendliness. “So why don’t you _relax_ a little more, husband?” As he spoke, he thrust one arm suddenly beneath Vala’s knees, and threw him backwards onto the bed. As Vala tried to raise himself onto his elbows – his head spun, and the dress felt as if it had gotten tangled around his legs – Taki leaned over him, eyeing him shamelessly from head to toe. 

“Comely enough,” Taki murmured. It sounded as if he spoke to himself more than to Vala. One of his hands – _the same hand that had held a sword and slaughtered my brethren not ten days ago,_ Vala could not keep himself from thinking – reached out once again. As Vala lay frozen beneath him, Taki traced his fingers over the embroidery at Vala’s neck, and then down, as if savoring the feel of the smooth fabric. _As if examining the muscles of a beast he means to buy._ That thought, too, popped into Vala’s mind unpleasantly against his will. 

“How old are you?” Taki asked.

“My kind age differently than yours.” Vala answered, through gritted teeth. Taki’s hand was still moving slowly, unrelentingly, down over his chest. “The number would not mean anything to you.” 

Taki smiled at him, showing his teeth. “And yet I wish to hear it.” 

“If I count the years as you would, sixty – sixty-four.” 

“Sixty-four!” Taki looked as delighted as a child. “Older than my father – than his father, maybe! I never thought that I would marry such an old man.” He chuckled at his own joke, and then his expression became sly in a way that made Vala’s stomach twist nervously. “So old, and yet still untouched, I hear.” His hand moved boldly, pressing suddenly against the place where the white cloth had pulled tight over Vala’s groin as he sprawled across the bed. Vala sucked in a breath. 

Taki leaned forwards until he could whisper into Vala’s ear, grinning all the while. “Were you lonely?”

“Ah…” Vala might have explained to Taki that he was hardly very old at all, for an elf, but it was hard to concentrate like this, and it was clear enough that Taki did not really care about the matter anyway. The hand that still pressed at Vala was _rubbing_ now – gently, still, almost teasingly – and Vala’s new husband was nuzzling at his temple as if he meant to gather Vala’s scent. Teeth brushed against Vala’s ear suddenly, and the sensation of it sent tingles down his spine and made him gasp again. “That –"

Before he could decide whether he had meant to say _stop that_ or – disturbingly – _do that again_ , Taki was pushing himself up abruptly, leaving Vala shoved aside once more, his body still hot where Taki had touched him. 

By the time Vala’s mind had caught up with what was happening, Taki had produced a small bottle from somewhere, and tossed it down to him. Vala picked it up unthinkingly, turning it over in his hand. The bottle was made of colored glass, and he could make out a strange, viscous substance inside. “Get ready,” Taki ordered.

“Ready…?” It took a second before Vala understood.

“I won’t wait for you,” Taki warned, as Vala continued to stare at the bottle, paralyzed by the unavoidable knowledge of what loomed just ahead. Out of the corner of Vala’s eye, he saw the unpleasant grin return once more. “Of course, if my _husband_ does not know what to do, I could help him, or I could call someone –“

“ _No_.” Vala could not imagine what would be worse, to have one of the mute, uncomfortable servants prepare him so intimately, or to have Taki do it. 

He was not confident at all about how to go about what he must do – what Taki had said about his lack of experience was true, though he did not know when Taki could have learned such a thing – but as he raised himself up a little further, and spread his legs so that he could begin to reach beneath his dress, he saw that Taki was watching him closely, pleased. Vala’s face felt hotter than ever before, but a pleased Taki was better than any of the other options. 

When he had first been dressed some hours earlier, the servants had not given Vala anything to wear beneath the dress. He had not thought much about it at the time other than to wonder if perhaps it was some kind of human custom, but now it was obvious that this had been another of Taki’s whims. Now, the skirt of the dress draped about his legs and provided some small protection from Taki’s penetrating stare, but the feeling of smooth fabric against his skin seemed to only make his body more sensitive, as he guided his slick fingers – the contents of the bottle had turned out to be scentless and lewdly slippery – towards their destination. 

When the tips of his fingers finally brushed against his hole, Vala could not quite stifle the gasp that escaped his lips. It felt – his oiled fingers were warm and not entirely unpleasant, but it felt _strange_ , and as he dared to press a little further, he was not sure if he would be able to take two of his own fingers comfortably, much less anything else. 

The bed shifted suddenly, and that was all the warning Vala got before Taki grabbed him yet again. 

“Wait!” Vala yelped, all ideas about keeping whatever might remain of his dignity vanishing in a heartbeat, but Taki ignored him. Vala’s hands flew up automatically, about to wrench Taki’s grip away from him, but in the next second he remembered the way that Taki had threatened him only a short while earlier – _having second thoughts already?_

He had been sure that the moment had come when Taki would force himself upon him without further hesitation, but to Vala’s surprise, the human warlord seated himself once more at the side of the bed, before dragging Vala until he was belly-down over Taki’s lap, his face pressed suffocatingly against the furs that served as blankets. Vala tried to prop himself up, only to find his arms yanked behind his back and pinned there by one of Taki’s hands. The human’s other hand rested on Vala’s thighs, exposed where his dress had ridden up in the commotion. 

“Taki,” Vala said thickly. If he turned his head, he could at least breathe easier, though it did nothing to help the way his heart pounded and his mind raced with dread and confusion. What had Taki decided to do now? “I – I mean to honor the deal my father made, I swear, I will do anything you want –“

“Hmm.” Vala could not see the look on Taki’s face, but the false lightness with which the human spoke did not make him feel better at all. 

Vala heard the sound of the slap first – sharp, shockingly loud – and then, half a second later, felt pain blossom where Taki’s hand had been a moment earlier. He cried out, startled, and was faintly aware of Taki chuckling low above him. The hand that had just struck him ran up and down his thigh once again, the callouses on his palm and fingers rough where Vala’s skin still stung from the blow.

He tried to rise again, but Taki’s other hand still trapped his hands behind his back and kept him firmly in place. As unassuming as the human had appeared when he had first entered the tent, the strength of his grip felt more suited to a man twice his size, and Vala could feel the hard muscle of Taki’s legs beneath his hips. 

The next thing he felt was cool night air against his skin as Taki raised his dress further still, exposing Vala entirely. Vala pressed his face against the bed, but he could not block out Taki’s words, nor escape from his groping hand. 

“ _Ah_.” Taki sounded so satisfied that in that instant Vala would have killed him happily if it were possible, no matter the consequences. “Are all elves as…well-formed as you?”

Vala said nothing, grinding his teeth, and Taki struck him again, and then a third time. As he raised his hand once more, Vala was able to wrench himself around, and he felt his wrists twist painfully out of Taki’s grip at last. His hand flew to his hip, ready to grab his dagger and tear out the vile human’s throat –

But there was nothing, of course. Vala’s dagger lay somewhere far away in the ashes of the forest, along with his bow and his arrows and everything else that had once belonged to him. The magic ring on his finger pulsed dully, painfully, in warning. 

For a moment, Vala was so flooded with the despair that had become miserably familiar over the last few days that he forgot where he was, and who was beside him. When he remembered to glance up at Taki – his new husband, the one who had laid waste to so much of Vala’s kingdom, the one Vala had just tried to kill – he saw that Taki looked, somehow, more gleeful than ever before. 

“There!” Taki exclaimed, as he pulled Vala ungently back into place, face-down on the bed over Taki’s knees. “ _That’s_ the man I saw in the forest!” Vala’s dress was pushed up about his waist yet again. “You were being so _quiet_ , I was wondering what was wrong with you!”

“Bastard-!” Vala growled, but his arms had been wrenched tightly behind his back once more, and Taki’s body was solid and unyielding when he tried to struggle against it. 

“You know,” Taki’s voice had gone low again, intimate. “Plenty of my soldiers told me that if I would not kill you and your kin, I should at least have you strung up and whipped. Perhaps in the center of my camp, so everyone could watch as I stripped you and took a lash to your back.” He paused a second, just long enough for the image to sink in. “I think this is much better, don’t you?” 

Before Vala could spit out a reply, Taki struck him as he had before. Vala was growing accustomed to the pain by now – even though Taki’s hands were just as sturdy and powerful as the rest of him – but the humiliation of it, and the way the sound seemed to echo through the tent, made his face burn. 

“How many of my men were injured when we attacked your stronghold that last time?” Taki asked. 

“Twenty,” said Vala, through gritted teeth. He could not resist adding, “And more of mine, and twelve of mine dead.” 

“I did not ask about _your kind_ , _elf_.” Taki’s voice had turned icy with terrifying suddenness, like a candle being snuffed out. The grip on Vala’s arms tightened even further, and Vala wondered for a moment if Taki could snap his wrists with only one hand. He braced himself for whatever might come next, but in the end, there was only silence for a few more uneasy seconds, and when Taki spoke again, it was with his typical infuriating nonchalance. 

“Twenty, then.”

That was all the warning Vala got before Taki’s hand came down once more. Vala was not sure if Taki was using more force, or if Vala had simply grown sensitive from the earlier blows, but he could not stop the small cry that it forced from his lips. As if pleased by that, Taki hit him again quickly in the same spot, and Vala groaned, shamefully loud. 

It took perhaps fifteen blows – he could no longer count them, could focus on nothing but the stinging heat that came in one wave after another – before Vala was writhing, tugging weakly, uselessly, against Taki’s grip but unable to free himself, nor to gain any relief from the hand that came down cruelly over every inch of his ass and upper thighs. 

Taki paused at one point, stroking Vala slowly, as if in appreciation of his own work. Vala whined involuntarily – his eyes watered, and his throat felt sore from his unsuccessful attempts to choke back the sounds Taki had wrung out of him – and Taki hushed him, almost gently.

“You look so sweet now, _husband_ ,” Taki purred. “All red, so pretty with the white dress I gave you. Should we go outside and show everyone after all?” Vala moaned, his body stiffening in humiliation at the thought of it. 

“No?” Taki chuckled low in his throat. The hand stroking Vala grew rougher, grabbing, spreading. Taki’s thumb brushed heart-stoppingly close to Vala’s hole, which was still slick from his pitiful earlier efforts. 

“Should I fuck you now?” 

Vala could only moan again. Without the distraction of a blow, he could feel Taki’s cock hot and stiff even through the human’s clothes. Vala’s body felt hot too – hot from the pain Taki had just inflicted upon him, hot from shame, and some other, stranger heat that made his head spin, that grew stronger as Taki’s calloused thumb rubbed against him carelessly. 

“My _sweet – pretty – husband_ ,” Taki sang, punctuating each word with sudden new burst of slaps that made Vala sob raggedly. “I’ll have you soon, but first…” One more blow, and then another lewd squeeze. And then Taki was shifting, leaving Vala sprawled on the bed yet again as he got to his feet. Vala heard the sounds of him undressing only faintly, as if from far away. His heart pounded, and his body was still aflame. His cock, he realized only now, had grown hard. 

Taki climbed back onto the bed – naked, now – sat, and pulled Vala into his lap. The dress tangled about Vala’s legs yet again, dulling the sensation of Taki’s cock against Vala’s abused skin, and Taki growled in impatience. Before Vala could realize what was happening, there was a loud _rip_ , and Taki was pulling what remained of the dress off of Vala’s body and casting it to the floor. For a moment, Vala felt an unexpected pang of regret at the thought of its fine craft, the care with which the servants had buttoned him into it earlier in the day, but then Taki’s hands were on his hips, guiding him until he was pressed flush against Taki’s chest and Taki’s cock was at his hole. 

Taki spared Vala as little consideration as ever as he entered him, but whether from the pain he had already endured or the way that his head spun from all that had transpired, Vala found that it did not hurt too much. On the contrary, the sensation of Taki filling him made Vala’s own cock throb, and he could not stop himself from whining just as he had when Taki had hit him earlier. 

"Good.” Taki sounded out of breath, though his arrogance was not a bit dampened. “Like that, do you? Needy, pretty elf. _Husband_.” As the last word left his lips, he hiked Vala suddenly in his arms, forcing him to rise and fall upon his cock. 

“No, I –" Vala had started to say – He did _not_ want to be fucked by Taki, his enemy, did he? He had been quite sure of that when he had first entered Taki’s tent – but as Taki’s length pushed back inside of him, he found himself unable to finish the sentence. 

Taki lifted him again and again, using the same strength that had pinned Vala in place a short time before to move Vala’s body as if he weighed no more than a doll. In and out, raising Vala until the head of his cock dragged against Vala’s entrance only to pull him back down until his hips slapped against Vala’s bruised flesh. At some point, Vala realized that he had brought one hand up over his mouth, but he could not stop the pleas that burst forth unthinkingly with each thrust any more than he could stop any of the rest of it. 

“I can’t understand your elvish babble,” Taki growled, his breath hot against Vala’s neck.

“Please!” Vala cried out, in the common tongue this time. “Please, I need…”

“Need what?” Taki pressed his teeth against the place where Vala’s neck met his shoulders, his rough hands playing over Vala’s ribs, his nipples. 

“Need…” It was hard to put together a reply when Taki would not stop _touching_ him, would not stop clouding his mind and making the strange heat consuming him grow hotter still. 

“Need more of my cock in your tight hole?” Taki rolled his hips as if to demonstrate, Vala groaned deeply. “Need my hand on your cock? Say it.” 

“Your ha – _Ah_ – Touch me!” Vala managed. 

Taki began to move his hand, bringing it closer and closer to Vala’s achingly hard cock. Vala watched in a daze, his mouth dry with anticipation – _finally,_ he might have some relief – only be left wanting again when Taki pulled his hand away quickly, letting his fingers ghost only the faintest degree against Vala’s skin. “ _Touch me_ ,” Vala ground out again. It did not come out nearly as forcefully as he had intended. 

Taki pressed his lips against Vala’s shoulder. “Ask nicely, husband.” 

“ _Husband_ ,” Vala repeated instantly, desperately. “Husband, Taki, _please._ Touch me.” 

Taki might have hummed approvingly, might have whispered something more, but Vala paid no attention, unable to focus on anything but Taki’s hand on his cock at last. His grip was almost painfully tight, and slickened with no more than sweat, but that made no difference. It was no more than a matter of seconds before Vala was spilling into his hand, crying out brokenly yet again. 

As the aftershocks of his climax began to fade, the intrusion of Taki’s cock still deep within him became more apparent, and more uncomfortable, but once again, the human did not relent. Hard hands gripped Vala’s hips once again, and Taki drove in and out of him with every bit of his earlier, undeniable power. 

“Ah, ah, ah…” Vala had not yet returned to himself enough to control what came out of his mouth, let alone to try and free himself from Taki’s arms. 

“ _Fuck_ , yes – fucking tight little elf – _mine!”_ A few more growled words, too breathless to be understood, and then Taki thrust into Vala one last, hard, time, before Vala felt the tension begin to seep from his body as well. 

Eventually, Taki hefted Vala away from him, setting him down to lie on his side on top of the bed. Vala did not try to rise. His heart still pounded inside his chest, as frenzied as if he had just finished a long battle. His whole body felt sweaty and limp. He could feel Taki’s spend beginning to seep out of him, still lewdly warm. 

The bed shifted beneath him, and a moment later the tent went dark as Taki extinguished the lanterns. He felt Taki climb back onto the bed, heard the rustle of blankets, and then nothing more until, an indeterminable length of time later, there was a faint rumble that Vala realized after several more seconds was the sound of snoring. 

Vala lay awake beside him. His body still felt weak and achy – he could tell already that it would be worse in the morning – but his mind had begun to clear again, and reality had begun to set back in. 

Marriage or no, Taki was the human who had laid waste to Vala’s kingdom, the marriage no more than a cruel joke to guarantee Taki’s hold over Vala and the other elves. Had Vala really let himself be overcome by such a man? Taki had mocked him, hit him – how had it made Vala feel so _good_? 

He lay awake in the pitch-black tent for quite some time, turning the question over in his mind and twisting his wedding ring uselessly about his finger, before slipping into strange, confusing dreams. 


End file.
